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Four burnt to death in slum fire
A man at the ruins of a house in which three women and a child were burnt to death at Gatwikira in Kibera slum on February 26, 2015, morning. PHOTO | BILLY MUTAI |
What you need to know:
- Another neigbour, Ms Irene Atieno, whose sister, Belinda Awuor, was burnt to death, said they destroyed a wall to try and rescue those trapped in the room. Ms Atieno said her sister managed to come out of the house but insisted on going back to collect her academic certificates.
- “We had been together until 10.30 pm in my house when she retired for the night since she was preparing to wake up early in the morning to wash a neigbour’s clothes to earn some money,” she added.
- A fire engine was unable to go past the Olympic Primary School’s gate in Kibera as there is no access road to the scene of the fire.
- By the time the fire was put out using buckets of water three hours later, four bodies were found near the door. They included that of Margaret Nyakowa and her son, Elvis Ocholi, 8. Margaret had wrapped her arms around her son who was in Standard Two.
Three women and a child were burnt to death as they slept in a tiny room that had been locked from outside at Gatwikira in Kibera Slum.
Neigbours destroyed a mud wall of an adjacent house to gain entry into the house that caught fire around 1.20am. Six other people were injured in the blaze.
